


to mend a friendship

by WitchyPrentiss



Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, a story untold, emily/penelope friendship, implied jemily, takes place after emily rises from the dead
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-28
Updated: 2020-10-28
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:47:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,438
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27242188
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WitchyPrentiss/pseuds/WitchyPrentiss
Summary: After Emily has risen from the dead she works to regain the teams trust. With Penelope that means an overdue thank you and apology.Emily/Penelope friendship with some implied Jemily to please the soul.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 11





	to mend a friendship

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! I haven’t written fanfic in years and never on AO3 so please excuse any mistakes. I have been re watching criminal minds as a distraction from ya know everything and I have been madly in love with Emily and Penelope’s friendship as well as Jemily. One thing that has bothered me though is when Emily rises from the dead there is no resolution between her and Penelope, so I wrote it. ENJOY!!

// Takes place before Rossi’s pasta party. //

“See you at Rossi’s?” Derek asked as he passed by Emily’s desk, as happy as he was to have her back, things still felt raw for the team. 

“Yeah, just finishing up a few things” Emily replied, smiling at her friend as he departed through the double doors. 

Emily looked around, at the familiar surroundings that felt so surreal to come back to. She had been surprised her desk was still empty, JJ opting to take Derek’s old one, perhaps as a sort of omen of Prentiss's return. 

“You good?” JJ asked, seeing Emily was now looking blankly in her direction 

“Yeah… well… no…. god JJ this is just so much harder than I thought it was going to be.” 

“I know… Spence won’t look at me in the eye…. Derek too. but we will get through this… We are a team and always will be” JJ smiled, that smile that always seemed to calm all the worry in Emily’s soul. 

“Yeah I know…” silence sat between the women for a moment “hey… have you talked to Pen much?” Emily questioned 

JJ pondered for a moment “No, not really. But you know Penelope, she loves you and she can’t stay mad” 

“Right” Emily chuckled but continued to think on it, besides a discussion about Sergio, Emily hadn’t talked to her friend about her return and the guilt that sat in her stomach felt almost unbearable. “Do you know if she’s still here though? 

JJ began to pack up her things “Yeah, Hotch is with her right now debriefing” walking to place a hand on Emily’s shoulder she looked into her friends eyes “Em, its all going to be okay, just try to take care of yourself right now, you’ve been through enough” 

Emily placed her hand onto JJ’s, patting it softly “I know… thank you…. go on, i’ll see you at Rossi’s later” 

JJ stayed for a moment, letting her and Emily’s hands sit comfortably together “Okay… well get ready to drink some wine with me because we all deserve at least 3 glasses each” she smiled as she moved to leave 

“You know it” Emily smirked. 

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As Emily walked to the elevators she spotted Hotch leaving Penelope’s office, turning the opposite direction towards Strauss’s. With a deep breath she made her way to the lair of all things pink and tech. 

*knock knock* 

“Pen?” 

Penelope looked up from her bag to see Emily, standing hesitantly in the doorway 

“Hey, I was just heading out, I can hear the pasta calling me” the blonde laughed 

Emily stepped closer, hesitant to break the ice; “Right, yeah me too…. uh…” 

a quizzical look came across Penelope’s face “Whats wrong?” she asked, perceptive as always. “Are you okay?” a worried pang came from her voice

Emily rushed to stand closer “Yes.... Oh yeah. uh I was just wondering… can we talk for a sec?” 

“Of course…. what’s up? 

The two women sat, a cloud of anxiety filling the room 

“I um… Penelope…. I” Emily hesitated, “I’m so sorry” 

Penelope’s heart sped up, taking a deep breath, “Em you don’t have to be sorry” 

Emily stuttered slightly, the lump from her stomach making its way to her throat “ No.. I really do. Penelope… I” silence, Emily put her head down

Penelope scooted forward in her chair, taking Emily’s hands, smiling sadly 

Emily allowed herself a moment, a moment of sadness. The wall she so proudly kept up for so long was now gone, having been bulldozed by Doyle. 

“You know… I got your voicemail when I was in Boston” 

“You did?” Penelope replied 

“Yeah… yeah I did. And it meant the world to me. I played it over and over again in my head every day in Paris, I kept reminding myself you guys would get him, bring me home, even if you didn’t know you were” 

Penelope smiled “I’m glad. Em.. I am so happy you are here”  
Emily interjected; “But… it doesn’t change what you all went through Pen. And I am so sorry I put you through it… I never meant to hurt you” 

“Oh sweetie, I know… we all know” she squeezed Emily’s hands 

silence filled the room 

“How is it you can forgive me so easily… I mean… Spence won’t look at JJ or I” 

it was Penelope’s turn to hesitate “Well… I guess I just know you wouldn’t have done it without reason” 

“But?” Emily questioned as Penelope let go of her hands, leaning back in her chair 

“I mean… yeah I’m hurt… you know before all this we were a trio, you JJ and I. And Its weird… knowing you guys had this whole secret for the past 7 months. But you are alive and that beats any of the rest out” 

Emily smiled, how was it that Pen could always be this kind. “Its okay if it doesn’t. you can be mad at us…. me… you can be mad at me…if you want to yell at me, yell. I deserve it” 

Penelope sighed, she wasn't mad, she was hurt and confuse, mostly sad but not one for confrontation she had kept it to herself. 

“You know when you left, I was looking at your file and It was like I didn’t even know who it was” 

Emily felt her friends words like a deep cut

“And I kept wondering why you didn’t ask us for help. like why you hadn’t pulled me into a secure room and asked me to help. Because I would have” she paused “But I knew you did it to keep us safe and how could I be mad about that? That you loved us? that you wanted to keep us safe?” another pause “and yeah, it hurts that you left without saying goodbye and that Hotch and JJ made us grieve you only for it to all be a ruse. But then I saw your face and all I could think was how lucky we all were to have you back.” Penelope wiped a tear from her eyes 

“I wish I could have told you… I wish I hadn’t been so hellbent on getting him myself. I just felt like it was my battle and I couldn’t bring you guys into it.” 

“well, you wouldn’t be you if you weren’t stubborn Em” 

Emily laughed, “you really always make me smile you know that?” 

Penelope smiled “yeah… you mentioned it” 

Emily remembered, a conversation interrupted; “Well, I should tell you more often just how much I appreciate it… you” 

“Sounds like a plan” Penelope replied "I know you did what you had to do... I understand that. We all do... and it's okay" 

Emily took her friends words in, happy to know Penelope wasn't angry, but knowing it would take more than just one talk to fix their bond. 

“Pen, if you want to know more, more about Doyle… about me…. I’ll tell you all about it.” 

A bit of excitement rose in Penelope’s curious mind 

“But I need a little time. To process it all” 

Penelope retook her friends hands “Take all the time you need. I’ll be here when you are ready to talk… I am always here” 

Emily pulled her friend up, hugging her tightly “thank you” she mumbled into Penelope’s hair

“Always” Penelope squeezed “Always” she repeated 

what felt like weeks of tension melted as they broke apart 

“Hey so… you wanna carpool to Rossi’s with me?” Penelope asked “We can pregame at my place with Sergio?” 

a happy sigh escaped Emily’s lips, “Yes. Yeah I would love that” she laughed 

Penelope squealed “Yay!” grabbing her things and turning out the remaining lights as they walked out 

Penelope locked her office door, Emily placing a protective arm around her shoulders as they walked in unison towards the elevators 

“So who do you think is going to drink the most tonight?” Penelope quipped 

“Oh… JJ for sure, Or me… maybe Hotch?” Emily giggled 

“God I would love that, tipsy Hotch is my favorite” 

“Right? remember karaoke?” Emily was reminded of a night that felt like centuries ago 

“Yes oh my god.. we need to do that again soon” the women discussed as they made their way to Penelope’s car 

As they drove Emily enjoyed the familiar sound of an indie pop song playing from the radio, feeling grateful to have someone like Penelope in her life, knowing that their friendship, although bruised was not broken, and making a promise in that moment to always remember how lucky she was to have a best friend, a sister like Penelope Grace Garcia.

**Author's Note:**

> I have no idea if this was even good. Let me know. If it’s tolerable I might write some Jemily fluff set to taylor swift songs cause that’s my shit. Stay safe out there and keep on keeping on :)


End file.
